Hi all -
It was a nice warm weekend here in DC so I decided to tackle
stripping my 77B for its repaint. Got the bumpers, lights
windscreen, and windows off, but ran in to a few problems.
How do I get the freaking fender chrome trim strips off??? Yes
there is one nut to remove on each strip, but then what?? Do
I yank and pull? and tweak the strips. They look like they should
slide off, but they are not budging due to rust? Use a hammer???
Or should I just rip them off (gracefully) and replace them???
Second question. Got the windshield wipers off, but the chrome nuts/trim
won't budge. Any thoughts here. I understand they are really easy to
ruin.
3rd question. When is it time to replace rather than bang out & fill in
a body panel. My car was rear ended and the trunk lid as well
as the back panel were tweaked. I got a decent used trunk lid,
but the back panel is caved in. The PO tried to band it out as best
he could, should I continue straightening?? have a shop replace
this panel, or have a shop properly bang it out and top coat
it smooth w/ body filler. I realize this will all depend on how bad
it really is and a experienced professional should probably
have a look at it, but....how bad is fixable vs cost effective replacement.
Whole thing is going in for a paint job one of these days, so
color is not an issue.
4th question: Should I remove the front fenders to check the
condition of the sills. Since they bolt on, I figure it should not
be too hard to check for rust. (Dash and windscreen are unbolted).
The rest of the car is pretty rust free, so if this will really cause problems
for little gain, I suspect I won't do it. If its easy (a few bolts
to undo/replace)
w/ huge benefit (will be able to determine if car is structurally intact)
then I guess I will do it. Any thoughts??
Thanks. Thats it for now, more questions later.
-Dave
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